During the official DTM test drives at Brands Hatch (England) and the DTM presentation in Düsseldorf next weekend the Audi A4 DTM cars will be seen for the first time in the new colours and designs for the 2006 season. Yet the liveries are no longer "painted” on the vehicles: Modern racing cars are completely covered with pressure-sensitive film.

There are several reasons why the design of an Audi A4 DTM hardly involves the use of classical paint any more: The high-performance films are lighter and less expensive than paint, and it is easier to spot-repair damage from chipping, for example. In addition, there are no problems with different colour hues, and neither does the "paint off the roll” need to dry.

The high-tech films are available in a vast array of colours, giving the vehicle its basic colour. Sponsors’ logos, inscriptions and the drivers’ names, which this year will be displayed in large letters on the cars, as well as the competition numbers are created by digital printing, and cut out using computer-controlled equipment. Then, classical handwork is used to press the films against the surface where they are smoothed out with a felt-covered roller to prevent scratching.

Thanks to the films it is much easier to "repaint” the cars than it used to be. As such, Martin Tomczyk’s last year’s blue Audi very quickly became Christian Abt’s new black A4…